Aceh Recovery Newsletter
77 disadvantaged children from districts in the west coast area of Aceh have been given a better life in the SOS Desa Taruna Meulaboh (SOS Children’s Village) in Lapang, Meulaboh, Aceh Barat. Since October 2007, the children have been living in new houses built by SOS Desa Taruna Indonesia and funded by Cemex; a building supplies and cement company from Mexico. Cemex donated 2,1 million USD to SOS Indonesia to build 15 family homes, a small mosque, a library, a computer training room, playgrounds, kindergarten, and an office building on 1.75 Ha of land. Several other corporate and private donors also contributed to the project.SOS Indonesia assists children affected by natural disaster and conflict, and those who come from difficult family backgrounds. The organisation came to Aceh after the 2004 tsunami to support immediate relief for victims and conducted initial assessments. After witnessing the suffering of so many children in the aftermath of the disaster, SOS decided to focus their attention on three villages to protect tsunami affected children who had lost their families. Those three villages are located in Banda Aceh, Meulaboh and Medan. In Meulaboh, SOS Indonesia has provided housing for children since December 2005.
Beside children’s villages, SOS Indonesia has also built a health clinic, schools, a kindergarten, and permanent houses for tsunami victims in Aceh Barat and Aceh Besar. They also have a Family Strengthening Program which supports income generating programs for families to enable them to better provide and care for their children.
The SOS Meulaboh project places eight to ten children in each newly constructed family home, accompanied by a ‘trained mother.’ This Family Based Care allows the children to live as a family, in an environment where they will be secure, supported, and loved.
The children will be schooled outside the SOS village, enabling them to connect with their wider community. The children are also encouraged to join at least two extracurricular activities provided either by SOS or outside the SOS village if the activities are not available in the village. After discussing with their SOS mother, the SOS director, and their adviser or father figure, the children are free to decide which activities they would like to participate in. In SOS Meulaboh, children also have access to
their own computer training room. Children above Grade 6 are encouraged to join computer classes.
SOS Indonesia takes responsibility for the education of their students until tertiary-level and provides help in accessing job opportunities after they finish their study. SOS Desa Taruna Indonesia relies on assistance and funding from many sources. They are primarily supported by SOS–Kinderdorf International as a social development organisation, but also seek funding from private donors and institutions within Aceh.
The Aceh Recovery Newsletter Team
Based on:
click here to download Aceh Recovery Newsletter - Issue 11.pdf (2 Mb)
